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PDP demands INEC chair’s resignation, calls for international sanctions

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The Peoples Democratic Party has demanded that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, resigned for violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act and alleged manipulation and alteration of the February 25 presidential election results.

The PDP also demanded that the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Directorate of State Services immediately commence investigations into the electoral violations and manipulations by INEC with the view to prosecuting Yakubu and other INEC officials for electoral offences.

The PDP disclosed this at a press conference held at its headquarters on Friday in Abuja.

The PUNCH had reported how INEC declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, President-elect which the opposition PDP and Labour Party rejected over claims of numerous electoral violations.

Speaking at the press conference, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, further remarked that the party demanded the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to open an investigation into allegations that certain top officials of INEC were heavily compromised financially to manipulate the electoral process.

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Ologunagba said, “The PDP demands that the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, immediately steps down from office, having abused the confidence and dashed the hope of millions of Nigerians as well as political parties and the international community for a free, fair and credible election.

“His exit as chairman will be the first step towards sanitising the electoral commission and restoring the confidence of Nigerians especially as the nation prepares for the rescheduled March 18, 2023 governorship and state assembly elections.

“The PDP demands that the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Directorate of State Services immediately commence investigations into the electoral violations and manipulations by INEC with the view to prosecuting Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu and other officials of the commission for electoral offences.

“In the same vein, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should open an investigation into allegations that certain top officials of INEC were heavily compromised financially to manipulate the electoral process.

The spokesperson of the party pointed out that the PDP had also reviewed the latest scheme by INEC to reconfigure the BVAS devices to deny Nigerians and political parties, especially the PDP and its candidate, access to relevant information required to prosecute their case at the Presidential Election Tribunal.

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The spokesperson maintained that it was also obvious that the commission’s boss deliberately sabotaged the uploading and transmission of results directly from the polling units in favour of the APC “as now abundantly exposed in the pictorial and video evidence of compromised results sheets in many parts of the country.

He wondered why the INEC chairman “rushed” to announce and declare alleged manipulated results that were not transmitted directly from the polling units to INEC’s server/website and ignored the objections and complaints raised during the collation of results in deliberate violation of the provisions of Section 64 (4) (a) and (b), 64 (6) (a)-(d), and 65 (1) (c) of the Electoral Act. 2022.

He added, “For emphasis, while Section 64 (4) (a) and (b) expressly require the INEC Chairman as the Chief Returning Officer to announce only results that were transmitted directly from the polling units, Sections 64 (6) (a)-(d) and 65 (1) (c) compel INEC, in the case of disputes, complaints or objections regarding a collated result or the result of an election from any polling unit, to take steps including the review of collation where they are made contrary to the provisions of the law, regulations, guidelines and manual issued for the election.

The image maker also observed that by violating these provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as INEC’s regulations, guidelines and manual for the election, Yakubu is not only culpable of serious electoral offence but also “betrayed, thrashed and threw overboard the trust,” confidence and hope Nigerians reposed in him and the electoral commission to deliver a free, fair and credible election in the country.

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Rivers crisis: Why I won’t make peace with Fubara – Wike

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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has revealed one of the reasons he can’t make peace with Governor Similayi Fubara of Rivers State.

Wike accused Fubara of removing a chief in his family and went ahead to make another person a chief.

The FCT Minister stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from journalists at a media parley in Abuja.

According to reports, the statement comes amid the ongoing political crisis in the State, with Wike and Governor Similayi Fubara at the center of the feud.

“Sometimes when you people talk about this peace, you don’t take everything. You don’t just sit outside to talk.

“Look at me, a former governor, Minister of of the FCT, Governor (Fubara) had the temerity, the audacity, because he has money from federation account, because he has more Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), will enter my own family to remove a chief and make another person a chief,” Wike said.

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Lagos HoA Crisis: Let Obasa Stay, Tinubu Tells Lawmakers

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President Bola Tinubu has instructed lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly to allow the impeached and reinstated Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, to continue leading the house.

The President made this position known when he met with the lawmakers at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday.

As reported earlier, this is the first time President Tinubu is meeting the lawmakers since the crisis began in the house January 13, 2025.

One of the lawmakers told newsmen that ” Obasa is staying. We will obey the president. What we had was a family meeting. The President condenmed Obasa’s actions but blamed us for not carring him (Tinubu) along during the impeachement execrise”.

However, the lawmaker said President Tinubu warned Obasa to carry everyone along.

” He also warned him (Obasa) that if there were any future complaints from any quarters, he would be gone. “The President said he should let peace reign; and so based on that, we have accepted.”

On the pending matter in court, the source said: “The President has instructed him to withdraw it.”

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Fubara not sincere, playing to gallery – Rivers Assembly

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The Rivers State House of Assembly has disagreed with the claims by the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, that he was blocked from entering the House to re-present his 2025 Appropriation Bill.

The House said it never received any official communication from the governor indicating his interest to bring his appropriation bill to the floor of the House.

Spokesperson of the House and Chairman, House Committee on Information, Enemi George, described the claims of the governor as a mere comedy skit scripted to paint the House in bad light.

George recalled that on March 3, the House of Assembly wrote to the governor requesting him to bring his 2025 appropriation bill to the lawmakers following the judgement of the Supreme Court.

He said: “We were the ones, who immediately after that judgement appealed to the governor to bring his appropriation bill. We acted immediately because we have the interest of the state at heart and didn’t want Rivers people to suffer any harm.

“Despite withholding our entitlements for over a year and demolishing our chambers, we still wanted him to hasten up the presentation in the interest of the progress of Rivers.

“We indicated our intentions in that letter and even gave him a timeframe because of the urgency of the matter. To regularise his appointments, we also urged him during our subsequent sitting to submit the names of his nominees for the positions of commissioners and some boards’ membership for screening and confirmation.

“But, the governor rebuffed our pleas. We sent employees of the Assembly to deliver these resolutions to him. But, as usual, they turned them down at the gate and even brutalized them. We resorted to engaging the services of a courier company.

“But, he still did not heed our call forgetting that there are essential services like hospitals, schools and others to be funded. Our intention was to finish everything about the budget on March 15, so that we could send necessary information and documents to relevant agencies of the government to allow the release of Rivers allocations at the end of March. But, with what he is doing, we don’t know what he wants to achieve.

“How can he turn around to claim that we blocked him from re-presenting his budget? This is the height of insincerity. We even need the budget to be passed because the governor has been owing us our entitlements for more than a year and without the budget, we can’t get our entitlements.

“The governor and his team simply and deliberately acted Wednesday’s drama with a singular motive to tarnish the image of the Assembly. The governor is simply playing to the gallery to whip up unnecessary sentiments. But, it has backfired because the truth has come out”.

Besides, George insisted that the letter the governor claimed that he sent to the Speaker never got to him, adding that it was after the Wednesday’s sitting that the lawmakers saw the letter flying on social media.

He said: “But, even the letter trending on social media was dated March 11. Does it mean that the governor purportedly sent a letter on Tuesday God knows when, and immediately mobilised to the Assembly Quarters on Wednesday morning, claiming he came to present his budget?

“That alone vitiates the claimed purpose. It is procedurally trite that after writing to the Assembly, the governor ought to wait for the letter to be acknowledged by the lawmakers, who will then invite him to appear before them and make his presentation. Governor Fubara ought to know this if he is sincere.

“But, all we know is that this Assembly will continue to uphold the rule of law and will remain committed to promoting the interest of Rivers State. We urge him to do the needful so that Rivers people can breathe. He is toying with the lives and livelihood of Rivers people.

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